Feed-hopper.



F. W. RUGGLES.

FEED HOPPER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY s, 1913.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

@gigi 30 PATENT EFIE.

FREDERICK W. RUGG'LES, OF HUDSON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO UNITED STATES HOPPER GOMIPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSA- CHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 0F MASSAGHU.SETTSA FEED-HOPPER.

Be it known th all whom t may concern at I, FREDERICK W. RUG- eLns, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Hudson, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feed-Hoppers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to feed hoppers.

Of the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention: Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a feed hopper of which the parts are in position for use. Eig. 2 represents a vertical section, partly in elevation, of the hopper attached to a support. Fig. 3 represents a vertical section of the hopper, showing the position of the grid when the feed is nearly exhausted. Fig. 4 represents a front elevation of the hopper. Fig. 5 represents a perspective view of one of the spring clips which coperate with the grid.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever they occur.

rlihe hopper or receptacle which contains the feed is indicated at 10, and a grid through whose openings the feed may be taken is indicated at 11. The hopper is formed with a back wall 12, two inclined bottom walls 13 and 14, a top wall 15, a front wall 16, and side walls 17. The top wall 15 is provided with a lip or flange 1S which extends downwardly, and the front wall 16 is rovided with a similar lip or flange 1) which extends inwardly.

iThe back wall 12 is provided with suitable holes 20 for the reception of screws or other fasteners by which the hopper may be secured to a stationary support such as that indicated at 21 in Fig. 2. The inclined wall 13 causes the feed a@ to gravitate toward the front., and the inclined wall 111 causes the feed to gravitate toward the rear, so that the feed will tend to collect at the angle of these two walls.

rlhe grid 11 is movably connected to the hopper by a pair of clips such as that shown by Fig. 5. These clips are similar in construction, and each is made of a single continuous strip of wire. Each strip has guiding po-rtions 22 which are connected by a bend 23. The portions indicated at 24, 2st, and 25, 25, are intended to lie against the inner sides of the side walls 17. The guiding portions 22 are slipped through the Speccation of Letters Patent.

Application led May 3, 1913.

` set portions which Patented Mar. 8, 1.91/1.

serial no. 765,261.

meshes of the grid, and the marginal meshes are adapted to slide between the portions 22 and 24. These latter portions are connected by bends which provide the necessary space between the portions 22 and portions 2i. The portions 2er and 25 are connected by oil'- have shoulders 2G, 2o, and inclined portions 27, 27. The function of the shoulders is to hold the grid away from the feed, as hereinafter explained, and the function of the inclined portions 27 is to facilitate the movement of the grid toward the shoulders. rThe upper ends of the portions 25 are connected by bends 28 with portions 29 which are intended to engage the outer sides of the side walls 17. The extremities 30, 30 are bent substantially at right angles to the portions 29, and the side walls 17 are provided with holes 31, 31 for the reception of the extremities 30. A clip formed as described and shown is adapted to be detachably secured to the hopper by springing the portions 2E) away from the portions 25 sufficiently to admit the wall 17 between them. The clip is slipped upon the wall 417 until the extremities 30 register with th'e holes 31. The extremities then spring into the holes and the clip is thus interlocked with the wall. The holes 31 are preferably located at a distance from the edge of the wall equal to the distance between the extremities 30 and bends 28, so that the bends will engage the edge of the wall when the extremities are in the holes. The coperation of the bends 28 with the edge of the wall holds the clip at right angles tothe edge of the wall.

Vhen the hopper is in use, the grid rests upon the feed as shown by Figs. 2 and 3. As the quantity of feed is reduced the grid gravitates and is guided by the clips so that it moves bodily toward the walls 12 and 13, the direction of movement of the grid being substantially parallel to the guiding portions of the clips. rllhe clips are preferably located slightly above the horizontal median line of the grid, so that the lower edge of the grid will always press against the feed at the bottom of the hopper. The hop per may be rendered inoperative by sliding the grid toward the flanges 18 and 19. When the grid is so moved, its meshes which en gage the portions 24 of the clips pass along the inclined portions 27 and ultimately overlap the Shoulders 26. These shoulders are so disposed that the grid will pass over them when moved to engagement with the flanges 18 and 19. Some fleXure of the parts is required in order to move the gi'id to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, such lexure being' due to the offset arrangement of the parts 27 and 26. moved to the position last described, it closes the mouth of the hopper and leaves a oonsiderable space between it and the feed, thus preventing poultry and rats from getting at the feed. The grid may be readily moved back into contact with the feed to render the hopper operative, by applying slight pressure. in the direction of the feed. The springiness of the grid and clips enable the grid to pass over the shoulders 2G when considerable pressure is brought to bear; but these parts have suflicient strength to prevent small animals or poultr f from moving the grid to get at the feed. It may be stated that the flange 18 serves as a fulcrum for keeping the lower edge of the grid against the flange 19 when the grid is in Contact with the shoulders 26.

l claim: v

1. A feed hopper having a feed chamber, feed-supporting' means, and a mouth, ay grid in said Chamber adapted to g'ravitate bodily toward and with the feed, said grid being' bodily movable from the feed toward said mouth, and means supported by said hopper for ooacting with opposite marginal portions of said grid for guiding' the aforesaid bodily movei .ent of the grid.

2. A feed hopper having' a feed chamber, feed-supporting means, and means forming a mouth of less area tha the interioi' of the hopper, and a grid of greater area than said mouth arranged in said chamber, said grid being bodily movable toward said mouth and toward the feed.

3. A feed hopper having' a grid movable lVhen the grid is bodily toward and from the feed, and spring clips for guiding' the bodily movement of the grid, said clips and hopper having' interlocking portions whereby the clips ai'e detaohably secured to the hopper in operative position, said clips having provisions for holding' the grid away from the feed to prevent access to the feed.

el. A feed hopper having a feed chamber, feed-supporting' means, and a mouth, a bodily movable grid arranged between said mouth and said feed-supporting means, and means supported by said hoppei' for preventing movement of said grid beyond said mouth.

5. A feed hopper having' inwardly eX- tending' flanges at opposite sides of the mouth to reduce the area of the mout-h, a grid movable bodily in said hopper toward and from said flanges, said flanges overlapping' said grid so as to prevent removal thereof, and means arranged to engag'e said grid at opposite sides between said flanges to hold the grid away from the feed.

feed hopper having' a feed chamber, and a mouth, a grid in said Chamber for resting' upon the feed between the latter and said mouth, said grid being bodily movable toward and from said mouth, and parallel guides secur d to said hopper in said chamber at opposite sides of said mouth, said .froides loosely engaging' the opposite marginal portions of said grid at points nearer one end of the grid than the other, whereby said grid is caused to tilt on said guides when said hopper is arranged to hold said guides otherwise than vertical.

ln testimony whereof l have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK W RUGGLES. litnesses E. Ba'rorinnnnn, P. iV. Pnzznrri.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner or Patents.

' Washington, D. C. 

